Freddie locked on to the flapping wing with his wolf teeth and stretched it out flat. Now only one wing thrashed dangerously, but that too was grabbed; the pack had arrived. While Dustin latched on to the other wing copying Freddie, the other two males came and actually sat on the powerful wings immobilising them.
‘Wait,’ an authoritative voice commanded.
Natalya spared a glance and realised the lion was trotting swiftly towards her with a huge black bear. It was Jim that had spoken; maybe he’d realised she’d just been about to snap this vile creature’s neck.
Jim muttered something and the owl shrieked, his body unexpectedly converting into his human form. It meant the claws digging deeply into his sides dragged and tore as his limbs reconfigured themselves.
Freddie found he was now holding a man’s hand in his teeth and that blood was filling his mouth. He released the hand and spat out the blood. Johnny and Rupert sitting on the man’s arms were now sufficient to aid Natalya. The stranger still lay pinned on his belly beneath Natalya’s heavy tiger form. Blood oozed around each of her paws and her sides heaved.
Natalya glanced round and knew with satisfaction that each of these hunters would help her should this owl man break free. They stared intently at him, many with teeth instinctively bared. The lion approached and she felt the owl flinch.
‘Is he linked to the wizard?’ Natalya asked quickly.
‘He’s reaching for him, now you’ve reminded him,’ Jim said slightly absently, his focus on the owl man.
‘Get out of his head,’ Natalya ordered and, warning delivered, she bit the man’s neck. Her tiger’s teeth punctured deeply but she let him bleed to death. She could have dealt an instantly fatal blow, but ripping the jugular gave Jim a few moments to leave the dying man’s consciousness. She jumped away avoiding the spurting blood pooling around her enemy’s head.
‘What did you do that for?’ the lion hissed at her angrily.
‘To save our lives,’ Natalya growled back nose to nose with the lion. ‘In a few moments more that wizard was going to be able to see all our faces through that owl’s eyes. I couldn’t have held him if the wizard had been able to take control of his body.’
‘I could have stopped him,’ the lion growled.
‘Then he would have learned something else about the people here,’ Natalya snapped glancing around. ‘Now all he really knows is that his vicious servant is dead.’ The lion didn’t reply, acknowledging by his silence that she was correct. She glanced aside at Freddie, feeling him come to her side silently backing her up. She shimmered once more into wolf form, yelping once as her injured leg complained at the change of form. Jim stepped forward but she backed away from him turned and trotted away.
‘Let me see your leg,’ Freddie urged once they’d gone part of the way back to the village and her anxious pace had slowed. She was limping badly but didn’t seem to acknowledge the pain. He wondered how often she had forced her body to continue to flee even through injury; to ignore pain.
She stopped and glanced round relieved the rest of the pack was with them. She sat down, her belly to the soft grass; glad to rest her back leg. ‘Freddie, what am I to do?’ she asked anxiously.
‘Well first, you can take a nice hot bath and get some sleep,’ Freddie told her.
‘I meant about that wizard. I should leave now, tonight and draw him away.’
‘No,’ Freddie immediately objected. ‘You’re safe here, especially now that traitorous owl has been dealt with. Congratulations by the way,’ he added.
‘Congratulations? What, for killing a man?’ she said bleakly. She covered her bloody face with both paws, hiding from the beautiful wolf.
‘You are not a killer,’ Freddie told her. ‘What he did was inexcusable. If he’d just been following orders he would not have attacked me without provocation as he did. I would have snapped his neck without hesitation just for that, never mind what he’s done to you. Don’t feel a moment’s remorse. I know it’s never easy to end a life, but sometimes it has to be done. You should be proud you managed to see it through. Any one of us would have done it for you if you’d asked or needed us to. But he was your enemy. It was better for you to finish it.’
Natalya stared into his sincere face and heard the rest of the pack adding their assurances and agreement to his words. It felt good to let his words soak in, to be accepted. She glanced round; the lion and bear were approaching. Where the owl’s corpse had been was now a swirling eddy of rapidly dispersing dust.
Freddie nudged her, making her return her attention to him instead rather than consider fleeing. He moved closer and began very gently licking the blood from her injured leg. Not all the blood was hers, but until it was cleaned away the actual injury was obscured. He was fully aware that she was now more concerned with the pain of his ministrations than the approach of their leaders. He met Drako’s eyes whilst continuing to treat her injury. Drako nodded and merely said he’d speak to them in the morning.
Natalya observed the silent exchange of glances between Freddie and the bear and that the bear then nudged the faltering lion to carry on past.
‘What just happened?’ Natalya asked also hoping he’d talk rather than painfully wash her wound.
‘Did you want them to stop and talk just now?’
‘No, but how did you tell the bear, I mean Drako?’
‘We’ve known each other since childhood,’ Freddie said and resumed his attentions.
She yelped and moved away from him. ‘Freddie! Enough. It hurts.’
‘I’m sorry. I just wanted to be sure it was clean,’ he said and began licking the blood from her face instead, not wanting her to have any visual reminders of death on her face.
Natalya watched him, knowing what he was doing and enjoying both his attention and thoughtfulness. He was wordlessly proving to her that he had no reservations about her despite the fact she’d killed a man in front of them all. She suddenly noticed his licks had become slower and rather sensual around her muzzle; he was no longer simply washing her face. She pulled away, not ready to answer his seductive ploys. She got up and each wolf followed suit. She looked around them carefully; but the huge parkland meadow was empty as far as she could see in the moonlight. She felt safe and secure knowing a wall surrounded them; that nothing could simply walk in. As Freddie had said, she’d dealt with the one threat able to fly in over these defences. The wizard couldn’t fly.
‘Come home,’ Freddie said nudging her gently. ‘You’ll feel better for a good night’s sleep.’
‘But what of the wizard?’
‘Jim knows about him. Let him worry about keeping him out. Our walls have rebuffed wizards easily enough before,’ he added.
She sighed anxiously, but there was little point in sitting worrying about whether he would get in. As Freddie kept trying to tell her, she was no longer alone. The duty of keeping watch was now divided. She let him nudge her towards the village and the comfy little house he called home. She couldn’t deny her need to put her head down and sleep. Freddie walked by her side and the others followed. None of them seemed to chafe at her slow limping progress. Instead, she felt they were guarding her, or maybe they always felt safer together. She remained on guard, an eye constantly roving her surroundings as she limped painfully.
‘I could carry you,’ Freddie offered.
‘You’ve carried me so many times already today. It’s embarrassing to be so weak,’ she admitted. He simply stood silently before her and she gratefully nodded. She didn’t have the strength to change into her kitty but shrinking her wolf into a cub took less effort.
The males exclaimed and gathered round her, tails wagging and instinctively even more protective of the little wolf cub in their midst.
Freddie was shocked by her all over again. He watched the others fawning over the cub noticing that she seemed overwhelmed. Her eyes locked on his and she hopped the few paces between them. She touched noses with him and he sat down flat on his belly. Her little tail
wagged and her tongue swiped his muzzle gently then she was moving round and clambering on to his back. He felt the odd sensation of a warm living presence on his back, and was aware of her legs dangling down his sides. He climbed to his feet carefully, keeping his back as level as possible, trying not to tip her off. Knowing a trot would jar her, he kept to a walk. He was tired too; it’d been a very long and fraught day. She was also not as light as a real cub of that size, although considerably less than her adult wolf.
‘Where are we going?’ Natalya asked, clinging tightly as he climbed up the stairs in his house and walked past his bedroom along a short corridor.
Freddie nudged open a door and walked over to a single bed. ‘I thought you might be more comfortable having a room of your own,’ he told her and sat down.
‘You made a place for me?’ she asked sliding from his warm back. ‘Thank you so much.’ She felt overwhelmed again by his thoughtfulness and generosity. Without making any fuss he’d taken the pressure off by giving her some private space where she could relax alone.
‘Have your bath. I’ll get some dinner together in a bit,’ Freddie offered and her tail wagged happily.
Natalya had another bath, properly ridding her skin of the owl’s blood. This time she felt she could take her time soaking her aches. She unravelled her hair from its customary braid, finger combing bits of twig and briar from it that had probably been in there for weeks. She’d certainly not felt safe enough or had the proper washing facilities for long enough to bother with more than dunking her head in water. Thick hair that fell nearly to her waist was far too much bother out of its plait. Now she would wash it properly and get rid of the tangled snarls.
She caught her gashed leg climbing out of the bath and hissed. She limped back to her room and found a clean white strip of cloth draped on the bed that would serve nicely as a bandage. She wrapped her shin carefully before looking at the other item laid out on the bed. It was a pale bleached cotton dress. Cassy’s scent was on it but only lightly; so she’d handled it but not worn it. Cassy must have selected it for her. Natalya gladly shed her stained and dirty shirt and trousers and pulled on the dress. It was sleeveless and simply wrapped around so she could adjust it to fit. She threaded the thin belt through a hole at the waist and through a loop on her other hip to wrap around her and secure the flap. Just like that she was dressed in something clean and nice for a change. A wide toothed comb also sat on the bed and she almost pounced on it. She sat and slowly worked on freeing the dreadful tangles from her hair. She scented delicious cooking smells and her stomach growled. She abandoned her hair and went downstairs. She stood for a moment in the living area watching a very domesticated looking Freddie moving about purposefully in the kitchen. He went still, sensing her and turned his head. His brows raised and he turned properly. His gaze swept over her in a thorough survey and he came quickly to her side.
‘That dress looks great on you,’ he said softly. This change of attire into something feminine, coupled with her long hair being wet, but loose and wild, transformed her into a stunning beauty. She smiled shyly at him and he swallowed nervously. He reached out and took the comb still in her hand. He pulled a heavy lock of pale hair forward from its hiding place behind her back unable to resist touching. ‘How are you feeling? I thought you’d be sleeping.’
‘I’m too hungry to sleep. Can I help with anything?’ she asked trying to divert his intent stare.
‘Thank you but no. I’d rather you rested that leg. Where would you like to sit, here or outside?’ he asked giving her back the comb.
She went to the door; the wide veranda had only one chair but the evening was unseasonably warm and inviting. From the looks of that chair he spent a lot of time out here. She sat in his chair and smiled at him. He ducked back inside and brought another chair out, placing it near her.
‘It’d be nice to eat out here,’ she suggested. ‘We just need a table.’
‘That’s a good idea.’ He idly wondered why he’d never thought of doing so. He hefted the small but heavy kitchen table outside and suddenly the veranda felt transformed into a comfortable relaxing living area. They ate in peaceful silence, soaking up the tranquil evening and watching each other over a flickering candle.
‘You never said why you and Jim were in town today so fortuitously,’ she said, once she’d finished eating. ‘Were you expecting me?’
‘Not at all. When Jim goes into town to order supplies for the school, someone usually goes with him. He needs someone to watch his back while he’s dealing with the merchants. It’s my good fortune that he happened to ask me along. Anyway, he sensed an animus pass by and we saw soldiers rushing in the same direction. We followed in case we could help.’
‘Thank you for looking after me today,’ Natalya said. ‘I’m not sure I’d have got through it without you,’ she added softly.
‘Of course you would. You’re strong and resourceful,’ he told her trying to bolster her spirits. She was innately strong enough to be both wolf and tiger. To have become this timid appalled him; it spoke of years of physical or mental abuse.
‘I was alone and cornered, but I would not have gone with the lion man. It was only you I felt I could trust,’ she said collecting up their plates and hiding her face from him. She evaded his hands and hurried inside to dump the dishes in the sink. She had given herself to a stranger and she still had no idea why.
‘I’m glad you did,’ Freddie said having followed her.
‘I can’t believe I climbed into your coat,’ she commented gazing at his shirt or rather the skin she could see through the open neckline.
‘You surprised me too. A good surprise though; you felt very nice,’ he added grinning at her.
She snorted softly then laughed.
‘You should get an early night. You need to sleep.’ She nodded rueful acceptance so he put an arm around her, helping her limp back up the stairs to her room.
‘Thank you Freddie. Good night,’ she murmured.
‘Sleep well. Call if you need anything,’ he added and closed her door before he gave way to the temptation to kiss her.
Natalya listened to him tidying up downstairs and then barring the door. Barely ten minutes later, he came up and went to bed. Clearly he was tired too. She fell asleep quickly, more at peace than she’d been in months.
7. Surprise Visit
Amelie awoke abruptly. She lay still wondering what could have woken her so abruptly.
‘My queen. Where are you?’
‘Stripe?’ Amelie responded in surprise. ‘Is that really you?’
‘Who else would I be?’ the dragon responded.
‘Jim, wake up.’
‘What?’ he responded drowsily.
‘I think I’m hearing Stripe. He sounds really close,’ Amelie added, hastily dressing. After Jared’s trick in mimicking a dragon to entice her out, she didn’t plan on going outside alone, especially without Jim’s knowledge.
‘Damn,’ Jim exclaimed and Amelie joined him at the window. Just outside on the lawn was the vast green dragon that now turned his head and looked at them directly. ‘Wonder what he wants this time.’
‘Only one way to find out,’ Amelie responded, and hastily put warm clothes on Daisy.
‘Hello Stripe,’ Amelie greeted walking up to the dragon.
‘My queen. That is your youngling?’
‘Yes. This is Daisy,’ Amelie responded and was surprised that Stripe reached down and gently nuzzled her baby. Daisy giggled and grabbed the dragon’s sensitive nose in her fist making her parents wince in horror. ‘Sorry,’ Amelie said quickly as Stripe pulled free with surprising gentleness.
‘She will be a fine bold queen,’ Stripe remarked.
‘What brings you here?’ Amelie asked.
‘I find I am in need of your assistance once again,’ Stripe admitted. ‘Tania has become obsessed with watching humans. I think she seeks to become like you, my queen. She has found a way to alter her form to one like yours. She has bec
ome human.’
‘Tania has transformed into a human?’ Jim exclaimed. ‘How is that possible?’
‘I do not know,’ Stripe admitted. ‘She is now amongst humans where I cannot reach her without being seen. She ignores my call for her to return.’
‘Why would she do such a thing?’ Amelie asked.
‘She has become rebellious. She might still be a child but queens do not have to listen to males. She would only obey a queen or her mother. She would listen to you, she always has,’ he added. ‘Will you come? Now? I waited for the darkness so that humans would not see me. I can carry you.’
‘Jim, I need to go. The sooner we retrieve her, the better. Goodness knows how she thinks she ought to be acting and what people will make of her.’
‘Yes. Do you want me to come with you?’ Jim asked.
‘No. You had an enemy attack tonight on one of the new animus people, and saw an Inquisitor squad in town only an hour away. You need to be here.’
‘I suppose you’re right. Just promise me you’ll be careful. Are you planning on riding on his back?’
‘Well, like he says, its dark and no-one will see us. I can’t say as I fancy being held amongst his claws.’
‘I’ll fashion you a saddle then,’ he offered and immediately cast a spell to tailor something to fit between the spines on the dragon’s back. He also created a carry pouch so Amelie could hold Daisy securely across her chest where she could keep her in sight.
Stripe huffed a little at the odd feel of the saddle suddenly appearing on his back, but then watched closely as Jim helped Amelie and Daisy up into it, settling her securely. As soon as Jim stepped back Stripe rose to his feet, warning the little human to step back further. Then with no more ado he sprang into the air.
Natalya: Wizards of White Haven Page 7